1 Corinthians 4:10–15

³And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.

¹⁸Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.

⁹For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection.

¹⁸Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.

²⁴And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad.

¹⁴If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

¹⁹For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise.

⁷The days of visitation are come, the days of recompence are come; Israel shall know it: the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad, for the multitude of thine iniquity, and the great hatred.

¹²He that is void of wisdom despiseth his neighbour: but a man of understanding holdeth his peace.

³Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you.

⁴For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.

¹¹¶ Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord: and one said unto him, Is all well? wherefore came this mad fellow to thee? And he said unto them, Ye know the man, and his communication.

³He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

⁸How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain.

⁹The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord; and what wisdom is in them?

⁹And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:

²²Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.

¹PAUL, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,

²Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

³Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁸For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

¹⁹For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

²⁰Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

²⁶For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

²⁷But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

²⁸And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:

¹²Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

¹⁴Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.

¹⁵I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say.

¹⁴But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

²I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.

⁸Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you.

⁸He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.

¹⁰For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.

⁹And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

¹⁰Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

³²¶ And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.

¹⁶For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.

¹⁶He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.

²²And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

²³But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.

²⁴The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.

²⁵It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?

⁹Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.

¹¹Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

²⁹Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?

³⁵Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

²³Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.

²⁴Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.

²⁵Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;

²⁶In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;

²⁷In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.

¹²I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

¹¹Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.

²⁰And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

⁴But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,

⁵In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings;

⁶For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing.

⁴Have we not power to eat and to drink?

⁸We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;

¹⁹¶ And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead.

²³And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:

²And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth.

⁹Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.

¹¹Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

¹⁴Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.

¹²Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

¹³But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

¹⁴If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

³And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers.

²⁸Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

²⁰Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.

²³Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:

¹⁴But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;

³⁴¶ Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

⁴⁴But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

⁶⁰And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

²⁰Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

⁶Or I only and Barnabas, have not we power to forbear working?

⁹For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail: for labouring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God.

¹⁰For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.

⁸Neither did we eat any man’s bread for nought; but wrought with labour and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you:

³⁴Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me.

⁹Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.

¹⁹Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

⁴⁵Thou hast made us as the offscouring and refuse in the midst of the people.

²²And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live.

¹¹As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children,

⁴I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

¹⁵For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.

¹⁵But I have used none of these things: neither have I written these things, that it should be so done unto me: for it were better for me to die, than that any man should make my glorying void.

¹⁴Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.

¹⁹Again, think ye that we excuse ourselves unto you? we speak before God in Christ: but we do all things, dearly beloved, for your edifying.

²⁸Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:

³⁴Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.

⁵I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?

¹¹Wherefore? because I love you not? God knoweth.

¹⁴Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be burdensome to you: for I seek not yours, but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children.

¹⁵And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.

¹¹O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged.

¹²Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels.

¹³Now for a recompence in the same, (I speak as unto my children,) be ye also enlarged.

³I speak not this to condemn you: for I have said before, that ye are in our hearts to die and live with you.

³¹Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.

²¹Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.

¹⁰According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.

¹⁹My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,

¹⁴Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.

²³And this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you.

²³Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

⁶I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

¹²If others be partakers of this power over you, are not we rather? Nevertheless we have not used this power; but suffer all things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ.

¹⁸What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel.

¹DO we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?

²Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:

³Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.

³For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

⁴And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.

⁵And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ.

⁶And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.

⁷¶ And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man’s house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue.

⁸And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.

⁹Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace:

¹⁰For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.

¹¹And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

¹⁸Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

¹⁰I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds:

¹¹Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me:

¹²Whom I have sent again: thou therefore receive him, that is, mine own bowels:

¹⁹I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides.

²⁰Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man’s foundation:

⁴To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.

¹AM I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord?

²If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you: for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord.